The Fate of Remnant
by Solora Goldsun
Summary: Death and pain are the sole certainties in this new world. We can only wonder how much pain occurs before death, and when that death finally is granted to each of us. Everything else is up to chance. Anything can happen. Anything. (A series of predictions for Volume 4 and onward. Not connected unless stated. Massive spoilers for Volume 3 finale.)
1. Afterlife

**I decided to type a series of predictions I have concerning Volume 4 and onward. They aren't connected unless I say so. Some will have multiple chapters, like this one, and separate theories will be labeled in the chapter titles. These will all be speculation on my part. This particular chapter is based on my belief that ghosts probably exist on some level in this world. I mean, we already have magic, and Red like Roses Part II includes a part from Summer's perspective. Also, let's not forget that creepy spirit realm thingy we saw with that Salem person at the end. So, interaction between the spirit and physical realm on some level should be possible, right? Enjoy.**

First, there was pain. Then, everything was hot. Then, she felt cold. So cold. She was breaking apart, scattering, falling…

A few seconds passed. A few eternities marked the opening of her eyes.

She was lying on a patch of grass. The first thing she noticed was that it was gray. Then, she realized that everything was gray. She was in a colorless field. The sky above was pale and flat. Only the occasional black, skeletal tree broke the monotony of the scenery.

She stood up slowly, noticing as she did so that her own body still retained its color. _Where…?_

"Salutations!" a chipper voice called from behind her.

"Huh?" The girl spun around, finding herself face to face with a smaller girl with ginger hair and a bow. She looked strangely familiar.

"Welcome, Pyrrha Nikos," the girl chirped again. Her voice and smile seemed genuine, whoever she was. And what was that name she had said?

"Pyrrha Nikos." The taller girl repeated the name, and it felt as if a light was suddenly shining in her mind. All at once, her memories flooded back. "No…" She looked around desperately. "No, no, no!" She clutched at her head. "Jaune! I left him! I can't believe-"

She was silenced when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her middle. The smaller girl was hugging her. She remembered her name. "Penny… I am so sorry." She started sobbing as she returned the embrace.

"It wasn't you," Penny murmured, her voice strangely calm. "If they hadn't used you to kill me, they would have used someone else or killed someone else. The end result would have been the same."

She drew back. "You don't have anyone else you're close to in the other place, so I decided to come. No one should be alone when they get here." Her tone suggested that she had been alone upon her arrival.

"So, I'm…" Pyrrha's throat closed. "I'm…"

"Dead." Penny nodded. "You put up a valiant fight, though."

Pyrrha's eyes closed. Dead or not, the tears streaking her cheeks felt real, wet, and hot. "I left them. I left him." She shook her head. "I shouldn't have kissed him. It was selfish. Now, he'll just be… He'll just be thinking about it for…" Why couldn't she finish sentences anymore?

"It happened." Penny touched her arm. "You can't change that. Just focus on the future."

"What future? We're dead!" Pyrrha sobbed, falling to her knees. "What else is there?"

"We can still help our friends," Penny assured her, kneeling in front of her. "Spirits have power in the world. I learned that while here. When we die, our Auras become one with nature again. We can use that to be near the living. We can guide them. Give them hope. Sometimes, we can visit their dreams."

Pyrrha shook her head. "That would only hurt him more."

"Maybe it would now, but I'm sure he'll be glad to see you once he's done grieving. A reminder that we're there is sometimes all someone needs."

"Have you been with Ruby?"

Penny nodded. "I was there when she used my sword to save you." She smiled softly. "She was so brave. I will miss her."

"I'm so sorry," Pyrrha said again, though she knew it was pointless. She stood up, helping Penny to stand with her. "Why is this place so gray?"

"It's the place between worlds. It reflects how you felt when you died." Penny looked at the landscape with a frown. "You were so sad…" She walked over to one of the trees and pulled at its branches. It held firm. "But you were also determined. You refused to yield, even at the end."

"Was it wrong to go after her? To try being the hero?" Pyrrha asked.

Penny shook her head. "There's no point in asking that. It's over." She held out a hand. "Ready to go?"

Pyrrha glanced once more at the grayness before taking the android's hand. Strangely enough, the hand felt warm and organic when she touched it. She blinked and the gray landscape disappeared. They were in a deep pine forest. The trees cleared away into a campsite. Sitting there were Jaune, Ren, and Nora.

A gasp left Pyrrha as she stared at her team. They were talking quietly. Jaune had an empty look in his eyes and his voice sounded so hollow.

"Ruby will be ready in a week or so," he muttered. "We need to be in shape when we go to Haven. We don't want any more…" He shook his head and let out a choked sob.

Nora moved to his side and hugged him tightly. "I know, Jaune. I know."

Before Pyrrha could start crying, Penny tapped her arm. "Go to him." She nodded at Ren.

Ren was silent, but he looked contemplative, as if he was trying to figure out whether or not to say something. He was closer than the others and Pyrrha touched a hand to his shoulder, keeping her eye on Jaune and Nora.

As she touched him, she could feel his Aura like a lance going through her. It was so familiar. For a moment, she was caught up in that kind, quiet, maternal personality she had grown to love.

Ren sat up and looked at Jaune. "She would want us to carry on, no matter what," he said. "We're still a team, Jaune. We will get through this." His eyes carried a slightly brighter spark than before.

Jaune looked up and nodded shakily. "Yeah. I know."

Pyrrha walked over and wrapped her immaterial arms around him. As she touched him, she felt that warm, familiar presence flooding her soul. For a moment, she could almost imagine that she was holding him for real. She felt him take a sharp breath before suddenly standing up.

"Let's keep moving." His eyes were hardened and his mouth was set in a line. "We can't risk staying in one place for too long. If my parents find me, it'll be just you guys and Ruby."

"And Yang?" Nora added hopefully.

Jaune shook his head. "I don't think so. From what I've heard, she hasn't gotten any better."

As Team JNPR started to pack up camp, Pyrrha turned toward Penny with a concerned frown. "What happened to Yang?"

Penny held out a hand, her eyes taking on a sadder look. "It's better if you see for yourself."

Pyrrha's heart sank. Why was this happening? What had any of them done to deserve this? Yang had already suffered enough. What else could have happened to her? And where were Blake and Weiss?

Knowing that she wouldn't like any of the answers waiting for her, Pyrrha looked over her shoulder. Her team was still working to pack up camp, their faces grim and sad, but more determined than before. _I'll be with you,_ she silently promised. _Whenever you need me, I'll be right with you. Always. Have courage, Jaune. I'm always here._

Taking a shuddering breath, Pyrrha blew a kiss that Jaune would never feel before taking Penny's hand and vanishing once again.

 **Okay, rant time. WHAT THE HELL?! Seriously, that was a new kind of low. Hey, let's give the main couple of the series two songs on the soundtrack (which I can never listen to again without sobbing, by the way!) and then kill Pyrrha just as she's starting to develop as a character in her own right! I'm sorry, but that sucks from a writing standpoint. It just sucks. As far as I'm concerned, all three deaths in this series have been cheap and badly-timed. Penny dies just as we start to get hints of her life in Atlas and her plans to come to Beacon. Roman dies seconds after his only moment of humanity in probably the stupidest way possible. Now, Pyrrha dies in the middle of her character development RIGHT AFTER her first and last kiss.**

 **If they were determined to break my Arkos heart, they should have killed Jaune. I'm serious. They should have killed him instead. This is coming from someone who has Jaune as their second favorite character, okay? It would have made more sense. He's fully-developed, and the whole burning to ashes thing would have made more sense since he's based on Joan of Arc. While I still would have felt cheated, I would have seen the purpose: Force Pyrrha to cope and develop as a person as the series progresses. But this? This basically turned Pyrrha's entire character into a tool to flesh out Jaune's character.**

 **Ahem. By no means am I quitting the fandom. I'm still just as invested as before. I just hope that they don't pull anything like this again. What's next? Develop Ren or Nora a bit, hint at their backstories, and then kill one or both of them?! (No, that was not a suggestion, Miles and Kerry! Team Sloth is my OTP, now! Don't kill it!)**

 **My rants and statements concerning the finale could take up several pages, so I'll just make small statements in the Author Notes as I publish more chapters here. I hope you enjoy my theories. Hang in there, guys. We can survive this. Hopefully.**

 **Despite my anger, I would like to make it clear that I do still love RWBY. It has been one of my biggest inspirations practically since it started. Now, after watching the finale, I'm more determined than ever to finish editing my own book. Thank you, Monty. Your spirit remains with us always.**

 **Peace out.**


	2. Guilt and Tears

**Okay, so I'm still in a state of grief nearly two weeks later. While I do get easily attached to fictional characters (as a writer, it's kinda part of the job), there have only been a few times in my life when I've actually grieved for one for an extended period of time. It happened when I was young and first read the Harry Potter series, particularly the seventh book when it came out. It happened more recently when I played the Mass Effect trilogy three years ago. Now, it's happened again. I still can't listen to my Volume 2 soundtrack because "Shine" and "Dream Come True" have become two of the saddest songs in the world for me. When I get the Volume 3 soundtrack, I think I'll just automatically skip "Cold" every single time unless I'm all alone and wanting to cry for a million years.**

 **In keeping with how I've been feeling, I thought I'd type a chapter depicting a scene I see happening in the near future. It's the combination of grief and survivor's guilt that I know is going to come up, especially from Ruby.**

The journey so far had been uncharacteristically silent. Ruby thought back to only a few months ago, when a quest like this would have prompted excitement and a lust for adventure. She and Jaune would compare battle strategies while Pyrrha sharpened her weapon and talked quietly with Ren. Nora and Yang would make bets on who could kill the most evil henchmen and Grimm. Weiss and Blake would be patrolling the area and collecting firewood. Despite the overtone of danger, there would still be happiness and hope.

That wasn't the case anymore. It didn't feel like it would ever be again.

Ruby had never thought that she would feel like an outcast among her own friends, but every time she glanced at them, she thought: _It should be Pyrrha walking beside them. Not me._

When they set up camp for the night, Ruby volunteered to look for firewood while Jaune patrolled for Grimm and Ren and Nora prepared the firepit and set up the tents. As she walked through the woods, keeping half an eye open for any Grimm that might try to slip past Jaune, she allowed the tears to fall.

She thought of Penny and how she had been too late to save her. She thought about Pyrrha and how she had once again not been fast enough. She even thought about Roman and how quickly he had died after crying out to Neo, who might also be dead now because of her. _He said that he was with Cinder because of something he couldn't afford to lose. What if he wasn't really evil?_

In her mind, she went over that night a thousand times, wondering what she could have done differently. Could she have fought harder against Mercury and saved Penny? If she had gotten to the top of the tower just a little sooner, what would have changed? Would Pyrrha be alive? Would they both be dead? Would Ruby have died in her place? Whenever she looked at Jaune's downcast face, she couldn't help but think that that would have been a better outcome.

Once she had an armful of wood, she wiped her eyes on her shoulder before starting back toward camp. She paused, however, when a quiet noise sounded from a few yards away. She listened for a few seconds. It wasn't the rustling of a Grimm sneaking through the trees. It sounded more like sniffing. Then, she heard a tiny gasp and realized what was happening.

Hurriedly, she closed the distance between her and the sound before stopping short as she saw the source. Jaune was leaning against a tree, his right cheek pressed against the bark while he held onto a branch for support. His shoulders were shaking, he was sniffling softly, and a few hiccups were rising at intervals in his throat. Ruby took a step forward and he jumped in surprise, spinning around to face her before relaxing.

"Oh. Hey, Ruby." He wiped his face with his sleeve, glancing to the side. "I didn't hear you coming. Some patrol I am, huh?" He tried to laugh, but only started crying harder. Quickly, he turned away so that his face was pressed against the tree again.

Ruby immediately dropped the wood and walked over, throwing her arms around her friend. "Turn around," she said. "You don't have to be embarrassed."

Jaune took a shuddering breath before obeying, hugging Ruby tightly to his chest as he continued to cry. "I…I don't want to…to cry in front of…"

"I know," Ruby muttered, feeling more tears leaking from her eyes. "You're still their leader. You want to be strong for them. I get it."

Jaune nodded, nuzzling his cheek against the top of Ruby's head. "I miss her so much." He choked a little as he spoke, his throat tightening around the words. He couldn't even bring himself to say her name.

Another wave of guilt crashed down on Ruby and she let out a loud sob. "I…I'm sorry, Jaune. I'm so sorry." She gripped at his shirt, sniffing as she felt his heartbeat pounding against her ear through his armor. When he stepped back to look at her, she fixed her eyes on the ground.

"For what?" Jaune wiped his eyes as he looked down at Ruby. She was wearing that same sad, thoughtful expression he had seen on her face for the past few days. She always tried to hide it when she caught someone looking at her, much as Jaune had been hiding his tears just then.

"I didn't save her," Ruby whimpered, more tears etching trails down her already-red cheeks. "I…I just wasn't fast enough…"

Jaune felt his heart break all over again as he heard those helpless words spoken in such a small voice by one of the strongest people he knew. _She saw Pyrrha die right in front of her. Penny too. Of course she feels this way. This has probably been tearing her up inside, even worse than how it's been for me._ "No, Ruby," he said, forcing his voice to stop trembling. "Don't ever say that. Understand?"

Ruby looked up at him. "If I'd been a little faster, maybe I could've-"

"Cinder was more powerful than any of us. You probably would have died too."

"If I had died saving her, that would have been okay."

"No, it wouldn't have!" Jaune snapped, his eyes flashing. "If you had died and Pyrrha had lived, we still would have lost a friend. We'd all still feel sad. The only difference is that I'd be standing here having this conversation with her instead of you!"

Ruby sniffled once more, using her sleeve to wipe her face. "I know. I just… I…"

"I thought the same thing for awhile," Jaune admitted, his voice regaining its gentle, sad tone. "Could I have stopped her from challenging Cinder if I had said something else? What if I could have been there to take the hit? The world needs someone like Pyrrha more than it needs me, after all." He shook his head slowly. "It was even worse when you were in that coma and no one was sure if you'd wake up. I would have gladly given anything to bring either one of you back, even my life."

"I wouldn't have wanted that," Ruby murmured, staring at the ground again. She took a shuddering breath as she realized something else. "And neither would Pyrrha. For either of us."

"Exactly." Jaune pulled Ruby into another hug. "We can't change what happened. We need to just focus on saving Remnant and making sure we don't lose anyone else."

Ruby nodded against him. "We can do it."

"Not if we hide from each other," a new voice spoke up.

The two looked up to see Ren and Nora standing a few feet away. Ren's face was almost its usual stoic self, but Jaune recognized the subdued glimmer in his eyes that hinted at deep sadness. Nora's arms were folded and she was tapping her foot irritably.

"Uh, hey," Jaune muttered.

Nora let out an angry huff. "Don't 'uh, hey' us! What are you two doing out here?"

"Uh…" Ruby blinked nervously. "We were just…"

"Ugh! You guys are idiots." Without any further preamble, Nora walked over and threw her arms around Jaune's middle, pulling him into a crushing embrace.

Ren quietly walked over to Ruby and wrapped his arms gently around her shoulders, rubbing her back with one soothing hand.

Ruby had thought she was out of tears a few minutes ago, but she quickly discovered that she was completely wrong. She no longer had the strength to sob as she had before, but her shoulders still trembled as she returned Ren's hug and a few more hot droplets leaked from her eyes.

Jaune wrapped his arms weakly around Nora, plopping his head on top of hers. He couldn't manage more than a few pathetic hiccups at this point. He felt Nora shaking a little and tightened his arms while bringing one hand up to ruffle her hair. "Shh," he whispered. "It'll be okay."

"No, it won't," Ren spoke up, his stern voice carrying a shaky undertone.

Ruby drew back to look at him and saw that his cheeks were moist. She gently dabbed at his face with her cloak. "Of course it will."

Ren shook his head, his eyes narrowing. "No. It'll never be completely okay, and you two need to stop telling us otherwise."

Jaune looked up from Nora. "What are you-?" 

"We know you've been sneaking off to cry," Nora said, shooting glares at both of them. "You put on confident faces and act happy whenever we're together, but then go off to be sad alone. That's not what teams do."

Ren nodded in agreement. "We know you want to keep our morale up. You feel responsible because you're both team leaders, but you shouldn't think like that."

"We loved Pyrrha too, and we'll be sad and scared no matter what." Nora looked at Ruby. "And you lost Penny on top of everything else. If we're gonna be sad and scared anyway, isn't it best if we do it together? You know, like we're _friends_ or something?!"

Both Ruby and Jaune winced visibly at the accusing looks directed at them. They exchanged guilty glances. They knew that Ren and Nora were right.

"We just wanted to be strong for you," Jaune said. "Heck, we didn't even know about each other crying until a few minutes ago."

"You _are_ strong," Nora replied, her tone softening. "You don't need to put on an act for us to know that."

"We'd rather know what's wrong," Ren added. "Otherwise, we'll just be worrying about what you're not telling us. You wouldn't want us hiding our problems from you."

Ruby let out a weak laugh. "Does this mean our camps are gonna be full of hugging-and-crying sessions each night?"

"If that's what we need," Ren replied seriously. "Then, yes."

They stood together for a few more minutes before Ruby picked up her dropped firewood and led the way back to camp. There, the four let their emotions out. They talked, they hugged, and they cried. In a few nights, maybe they'd be able to bring up something funny from months ago and even laugh at it. Eventually, the tears would dry and they could look back on the past with sad smiles on their faces.

That would take a lot of time, but they knew that they would support each other through each passing day.

 **I honestly feel that there needs to be a scene like this in Volume 4. I can see Ruby feeling guilty for not saving Penny and Pyrrha, Jaune feeling useless, and both of them trying to hide their grief for the good of the team. Another scenario I can picture is Jaune just refusing to cry period and eventually having a breakdown when his emotions build up too much. I just hope that there's one or many Team RNJR group hugs in the future. Our babies freaking need them.**

 **This is partially a prediction, partially a bit of emotional catharsis for me. I legit cried a few times while typing this. Sorry if it rambles a bit.**

 **Some people may think it's stupid to grieve for fictional characters. I've frequently been treated to the phrase: "It's just a book/movie/show/etc." It's not, though. These characters become real in our imaginations. They take us away from the troubles of reality and bring us on their adventures with them. We get to see their lives and learn to root for them and love them. Also, through it all, a dedicated fan can feel the passion and love that the creator or creators put into these characters and their stories. That's what makes them real. They are living extensions of their creators and manifestations of the dreams of their fans. Never let anyone put you down for crying over them.**

 **I promise that I'll try to create some happy chapters between the doom and gloom theories I have crowding my brain. I also have some happier fanfics planned for the future, including various AUs where our beloved babies DON'T die. The fandom needs some happiness, after all. Peace out!**


	3. The Thief's Confusion

**It's nice to be back with this collection. Backing away from the Pyrrha grief, I thought I'd delve a bit into another prediction of mine. Out of all the villains, I feel that Emerald has the best chance of getting a redemption arc at some point. Now, in reality, I think it will take a long time for her to join the group and that a lot of Cinder's plot will be revealed through her. However, since I don't know the details of what will be happening with Team RNJR and don't have too many specific predictions concerning Cinder's plan, I'll keep those vague here. The main focus of this chapter is the very beginning of Emerald's redemption and a look into her psyche. Enjoy!**

Emerald took the first watch that night, but she was distinctly aware of at least one pair of untrusting eyes fixed on her. She resisted the urge to roll her own eyes. _If they don't trust me, why even bother letting me keep watch?_ A week had passed since her encounter with the recently formed "Team RNJR," and she was still shocked that she was alive.

She had been running blindly through the forest, unable to think straight, unable to keep the tears from her eyes. Cinder was gone. The woman she loved was gone, and dark confusion came crashing in to fill the void that was left. Without the cold confidence of her mistress, it was all too easy to see the horrors around her.

Every destroyed building, every scream cut short, every Grimm seemed to be saying: "You did this. You helped. This is your fault." Her dreams were haunted by the blank eyes of that surprisingly-lively android, by the sick glee on Mercury's face as he recorded the death and destruction that surrounded them.

After the explosion that froze Beacon, Emerald had fled. She had fled from Mercury, from the Grimm, from the cries of despair. She hadn't escaped, though. The guilt had followed her as surely as a Beowolf that had caught her scent.

When she ran into Ruby Rose and what remained of Team JNPR, she had been completely numb. When the group attacked her, she didn't fight back. When they interrogated her, she told them everything. She told them what she knew of Cinder's overall plan. She told them about the part she had played in the framing of Yang and in Penny's death (Ruby had looked particularly murderous after that). She told them what little she knew about Salem.

When she had no more answers to give, she waited for them to kill her. They had every right to do so, after all. She could see the grief and anger in their eyes. She could see the ghosts of Penny and Pyrrha in their suppressed tears. While Cinder had been the mastermind, Emerald had been vital to the plan. Her illusions had led to the breaking point. Knowing this, she closed her eyes and waited.

Nothing happened.

She had looked up again, seeing uncertainty on their faces. "Aren't you going to kill me?" To her surprise, the four seemed confused by the question. She realized that they had absolutely no intention of killing her.

Thinking back, she was still stunned. Did they have no sense of vengeance? Ruby at least should have wanted her dead for the direct role she had played in Penny's death. It was clear that, on some deep level, the younger girl wanted to do just that. Emerald could see that, even if Ruby herself didn't. But, no. They had looked at her as if killing her wasn't even an option.

They let her go.

Emerald spent the following day following them from a distance until Ren caught her. When asked why she was staying near them, she asked to travel with them. When she had been with them, telling them what she knew, she had felt a temporary lessening of her overbearing guilt. Maybe, just maybe, if she helped them, she could make it disappear entirely. Or, she'd be killed. Either way, this horrible mental torture would end.

Though nothing should have surprised her at that point, she was shocked when they hesitantly agreed.

Of course, they didn't trust her. That was apparent even now. Whenever she locked gazes with one of them, they would quickly look away or return her glance with a glare. Ruby in particular looked at her with a vivid mixture of anger and sadness.

She heard a rustle from Ruby's sleeping bag. "If you don't trust me to watch, you can take over," she called, her voice flat and resigned.

Ruby froze before giving up her façade and sitting up. Of course Emerald had noticed she was awake. She was a trained thief and killer, after all. "I don't," she muttered. Even now, looking at Emerald filled her with a deep sense of anger and hatred. Its intensity almost scared her.

Emerald nodded and started toward her sleeping bag. "I'll sleep, then. Hopefully, you can trust me to fight Grimm."

"Well, you did help summon Grimm to the city," Ruby said, her eyes flashing.

"True," Emerald allowed, sitting down by her bag. "It doesn't make me their friend, though."

Ruby watched the older girl's impassive face, feeling the hot rage within her becoming more intense by the second. How could Emerald be so calm? How could she even live with herself? Did she really regret what she had done? True, she had seemed pretty eager to die when they had interrogated her, but that could have been due to Cinder's frozen status. Ruby thought about Penny, remembering what Emerald had said about the illusion she had made. Not only had she killed an incredible person, but she had placed the guilt for the crime on Pyrrha, who carried that burden in her gentle heart until her death mere hours later.

When Emerald had offered to join them, Ruby had been adamantly against it. It had been the other three who had voted her down, saying that they needed any help they could find and that Emerald's limited information could prove useful. She had eventually conceded, understanding that saving the world as quickly as possible was more important than revenge. Still, her trigger finger twitched instinctively whenever she looked into those red eyes.

What made it worse was that Ruby had previously thought that Emerald was cute. She remembered blushing like a moron when the thief had complimented her team's performance. She had fallen for that fake-nice act, along with everyone else.

"Why?" she found herself whispering. When she looked up, Emerald was looking back at her, expression unreadable. "Why did you do it? What did you get out of it?"

Emerald's heart had hardened significantly over the years, but the constant suffering around her had caused several recent cracks to appear in her armor. Ruby's sad, confused voice, which she would have easily ignored in another time, now seemed to pry open the stone exterior of her soul and stab the darkness within. She felt compelled to give an honest answer. "Cinder."

Ruby gaped. "Cinder? That's it? What could she have over you? Were you threatened?" She thought back to Roman's ominous words before his death. "Did you think you had no other option?"

"No," Emerald sighed, staring at the ground. "I know you probably don't understand, but I loved Cinder. I still do." She shrugged helplessly, fully aware of how stupid and pathetic she sounded. "I would have done anything for her."

Ruby wanted to shoot this girl. She wanted to fly into a rage. She wanted to feel the hatred within her fill every fiber of her body. Instead, she just shook her head numbly. She had read books where people had done strange, sometimes awful things for love. Hearing something like this in real life, however, was almost surreal. It couldn't be the truth. Yet, she couldn't detect any deception in Emerald's words. And why would she lie about something like this now, when she had nothing to gain?

Emerald watched Ruby patiently for a moment before continuing. "She found me on the street and gave me a purpose. She was the first person who looked at me like I was worth something. She promised that the suffering would be worth it in the end, that the world would shift so that everyone would have an equal chance."

"An equal chance at what? Death?" Ruby snapped.

Emerald shook her head. "I didn't know all of the details. I just knew that she had a plan to make the world better, and that the sacrifice would be necessary." She took a deep breath. "If she was still around, I'd probably still be helping her. Without her, though, I can't…" She paused, remembering the screams that had echoed through Vale. "She was able to explain things to me. Without her, I just see people getting hurt. I can't see the bigger picture. I was never smart enough for that."

Ruby's brows furrowed. There was something strange about the way Emerald was talking, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "What do you mean 'not smart enough?'"

"Cinder understood things," Emerald explained. "She saw the big picture. It's why she was in charge. I don't have her grand vision for the future. All I could do was trust her." Her eyes grew hazy as she thought back. "She always knew best."

"How could you love someone like that?" Ruby asked, still trying to wrap her head around Emerald's words. "Someone that cruel and evil?"

"She was only cruel when she had to be!" Emerald shot back, feeling some venom returning to her voice. Ruby couldn't understand Cinder. No one really could. Emerald was the closest to knowing her, and even she didn't understand.

Ruby flinched in surprise at Emerald's words. She stared at the older girl for a moment before letting out a quiet gasp of realization. When Emerald had snapped just then, her hand had gone to her cheek. She didn't even seem to realize she was doing it.

"…Was she ever cruel to you?"

Emerald's spine stiffened at Ruby's question and she folded her legs up so that her knees covered her chest. It was a defensive position that she was used to assuming when Cinder had scolded her. "Only when I was out of line." Her eyes were narrow and she stared at her feet as she lowered her hand from her face. Ruby couldn't understand her relationship with Cinder. It had been special.

 _What would she do if she knew what I was doing now?_ For a moment, Emerald's vision blurred with tears. _She'd call me a coward. A coward and a traitor._ She wiped her eyes hurriedly.

Ruby watched Emerald silently. For the first time since the thief had joined them, she was feeling something besides hatred for her: Pity. Growing up, her father and teachers had talked about abusive relationships. She had seen posters and books and other things that pointed out the "warning signs" of stuff like that. From the self-deprecating talk, to the subtle excuses, Emerald was definitely showing some of those signs. The abuse in whatever relationship had existed between the two had been emotional and likely physical if Emerald's hand on her cheek was any indication.

It didn't excuse what she had done, but it at least explained it.

"I don't expect you to understand," Emerald continued, still not meeting Ruby's gaze. "And I don't expect you to forgive me. I can't even guarantee that I'll still be an ally in the future. That's why you're better off killing me."

Ruby's finger twitched, but it was more out of habit than anything else. Looking at this confused, blindly-trusting girl, she felt her hatred fading away. "No," she replied. "I don't want to kill you."

Emerald blinked at the younger girl. That edge of rage that had colored every interaction with her was gone, as was that deep, inner wish for vengeance that she likely hadn't been aware of. Those silver eyes were looking directly at Emerald. They were sympathetic, almost sad. Somehow, that felt worse. Emerald couldn't bear to look at them.

"I just don't understand you people," she sighed, unfolding her sleeping bag and lying down with her face toward the darkness of the forest rather than the dwindling fire. She fell into a light, fitful sleep, a confused frown still decorating her face.

Ruby watched Emerald for a few minutes. She tried and failed to summon that anger, feeling slightly relieved when it didn't appear. Anger had never been her strong suit. Maybe that was a weakness, maybe not.

"Maybe, you'll understand someday," she whispered. As she said this, she realized that she hoped she was right.

 **So, I have a lot of headcanons concerning Emerald. I'm convinced that she loves Cinder deeply, either romantically or as an admired older figure. The backstory episode also told me a lot. I keep thinking back to that one scene when we don't see anything, but just hear Emerald getting slapped for questioning Cinder. That alone tells me the nature of their relationship. I can definitely see Ruby's gentler personality being a positive influence on her if she ever joins with them.**

 **I also see a distinct possibility of a romance between Emerald and Ruby way, way in the future, due to their interactions in Volume 2 and Ruby's subtle crush in episode 1 of Volume 3. I don't think RT put those in just for the hell of it, after all. There's not much basis for it right now, but I think it's definitely a possible endgame, considering the signs I've seen so far. Again, I feel that comparisons between the unhealthy relationship Emerald had with Cinder and the healthy one she could potentially develop with Ruby can be made.**

 **It would also lend greatly to Ruby's character development. Seeing her come to forgive Emerald for a seemingly unforgivable action and seeing Emerald develop her own conscience and seek atonement for what she did would be really interesting. I definitely will be typing more chapters on this subject in the future.**

 **Please review, but don't flame. Cinder doesn't need any help. Feel free to share your own predictions. I'd love to hear them. Peace out!**


	4. A Fragile Promise

**Ren and Nora have been on my mind lately. Between the hints in the show, "Boop," and the teases in RWBY Chibi, there's no doubt in my mind that Team Sloth is going to be canon. However, I shudder to think about how long it will be canon. I mean, the last time RWBY pushed an OTP on us, it didn't exactly end well. *glares at RT while clutching Arkos plushies to my chest* Anyway, I feel that the way they get together will probably be a lot more solemn than it would have been in previous volumes. And I feel that it will happen soon. After what happened to Pyrrha, I can't help but think that Ren and Nora will realize that they don't have the luxury of waiting.**

 **This is one scenario I have in mind for these two. Enjoy.**

Ren barely looked away from the dark stretch of woods he had been eying for the past hour, even when he heard rustling from Nora's sleeping bag, followed by the warmth of her snuggling into his side. He just looped an arm around her shoulders and continued staring into the distance, ready to jump to his feet at the slightest sign of an intruder or Grimm.

"Hi, Ren," Nora murmured, her voice slurred with sleepiness. She had had another nightmare, and moving to Ren's side in that event was basically instinctual at this point.

"Hello," Ren replied, gently rubbing her arm, secretly taking comfort in her warm weight against him. "Another nightmare?"

"Yeah." Nora closed her eyes, nuzzling against her best friend's shoulder. "Anything interesting happening?"

"Nora, if anything interesting was happening, I'd be giving the alarm and waking you guys up."

"Good point…"

The two were silent for a few minutes. Around them, the indistinct sounds of forest life fluctuated in volume, not noticing or caring about the four inconsequential humans that rested in the small clearing. The inner turmoil, nightmares, guilt, and regret that permeated these young Huntsmen meant nothing to the surrounding darkness. The air, the woods, and the shadows would continue to exist, regardless of what else happened. It was almost comforting, in a way.

"Was it the same dream?" Ren eventually asked.

Nora tensed, nodding slowly. "Uh huh."

"I see." Ren hugged her a little closer.

The nightmare in question concerned the battle for Beacon, more specifically the fight against the malfunctioning Atlas machines. In the dream, Nora would see the mech turning toward Ren. However, unlike what had actually happened, when she had pushed him out of the way and taken the fall herself, she froze in the dream. It was one of those things when the dreamer is incapable of moving or speaking, and can only watch helplessly.

In slow motion, the metal beast would throw Ren to the ground and proceed to kill him in various ways. Sometimes, he was impaled. Sometimes, his skull was crushed. Sometimes, there would be an explosion. The details were always so vivid, enough to make Nora tremble for several minutes after waking up.

Just thinking about it caused her to start shaking. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she hiccupped quietly. "I'm s-sorry, Ren," she whimpered. "I know I've b-been really n-needy lately. I know I sh-should be stronger, but…"

"Hey," Ren murmured, resting his cheek on top of her head. "It's okay. I understand. None of us were ready for what happened. We didn't expect to face real danger or death so soon."

Nora sniffled. "Yeah. I…I can't stop thinking about Pyrrha," she admitted. "Since we became a team, she was always the strong older sister, you know? Nothing could touch her. If anyone could survive anything, Pyrrha could. But…she couldn't. It just…I'm just so scared of losing anyone else." She stared at the ground. "Especially you."

"Me too." Ren's voice was barely a whisper.

He still remembered the numb shock that had overtaken his whole body when the news first came that Pyrrha was dead. He had held a sobbing Nora, unable to do much else but stare blankly at nothing as Jaune fell to his knees, shoulders shaking. Even now, there was a feeling of disbelief permeating his thoughts. Sometimes, he half expected Pyrrha to appear out of the darkness, apologizing in her usual way for worrying them so much.

The thought of losing Nora like that, to suddenly hear that she was gone forever…Ren didn't think he could bear it.

After another moment of silence, Nora spoke up again. "Hey, Ren?" Her voice was uncharacteristically solemn, and she had to fight back tears as she spoke. "Can you promise me something?"

"What is it?" Ren rubbed her arm softly, feeling her suppressed sobs wracking her body.

"If I die before this is over…will you promise to live a good life afterward?" Nora scooted away so she could look him right in the eyes. The traces of their campfire and the stars above reflected in twin magenta orbs. She wished she could just forget about everything and stare into them forever. "If something happens, I want to know you'll be fine. Kick butt and be happy enough for both of us, okay? Eat twice as many pancakes, do stuff with Jaune and Ruby, make other friends…" She paused, wiping her eyes and sniffing loudly before looking up at him again. "Can you promise that, Ren?"

For the first time that night, Ren felt familiar sting of approaching tears behind his eyes. A lump rose in his throat, and he found himself incapable of speech. For a few seconds, he just shook his head mutely.

He imagined life without Nora, and the very thought was enough to bring those tears out. They spilled down his cheeks as he managed to swallow the lump in his throat. When Nora moved forward to hug him again, he let out a sob, just barely finding the presence of mind to muffle it. He thought of what it would be like to not hear that chipper, bright voice in his ear first thing in the morning. He imagined making pancakes in a kitchen where he didn't have to use his ninja skills to stop his best friend from swiping them. He thought about going into battle alone. Most of all, he imagined the sheer coldness that would become his life if Nora wasn't in it.

"I can't, Nora," he finally choked out, his shoulders shaking. "I can't make that promise." He squeezed his eyes shut, combined grief and shame flooding his chest.

"I'm sorry, Ren!" Nora said, her own voice shaking. Over the course of her time knowing Ren, she could count on one hand the times she had seen him cry. He got sad as often as any regular person, but tended to suffer in silence and express his feelings in forlorn gazes or tighter hugs. Feeling him sob like this on her shoulder was so alien, so strange. "I shouldn't have said-"

"I can't make that promise," he repeated, hugging her tighter. "I can't say I'd be able to be happy if you died. I can't say I'd be able to move on." He buried his face in her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Nora." He hated himself for breaking down like this. He was supposed to be the strong one. He was supposed to be the emotional support for Nora, not the other way around!

"Don't apologize!" Nora protested, gently combing her fingers through his hair. "It's okay. You can cry if you need to. It's okay. I'm here." She found herself repeating the things Ren had always said to her when she would run sobbing into his arms. She hummed softly, rubbing his back and shoulders, feeling the shaking slowly, slowly subside.

Ren took a deep breath as he finally felt himself calming down. He didn't want to move out of Nora's embrace, but he forced himself to just the same. He looked down at her, meeting her wide, scared turquoise eyes. "I can't make that promise," he said in a calmer voice. "Because, if you died, I don't know what I'd do. I don't even know…who I'd be."

Looking into her eyes now, and remembering the events of the past few months, Ren suddenly found himself saying what he had been wanting to say for years. "You mean everything to me, Nora. No one else ever will be as important to me as you are. No one." He gazed intently at her, hoping that the meaning behind his words would come through.

Nora's eyes widened and her heart started pounding as she stared at the earnest look on his face. _Does…Does he mean…?_

The distance that remained between them was incredibly small, yet infinitely vast. Slowly, the two drew closer and closer. It wasn't until the first tender brush of lips against each other that they closed their eyes, shutting out the rest of the world for a few precious moments.

The kiss was warm, wet, and desperate. Salty tears burned tongues and strong hands clutched and held with all the longing of two people who were unsure of their future, unsure of whether they'd be able to do this again in twenty four hours, unsure of who they'd become or what the world would become. It was what both of them needed more than anything in that moment

When they parted, hot breaths mingled and bruised lips sought out stray tears. Hands ran over familiar shoulders, backs, and arms. Finally, their eyes opened and they looked at each other.

Nora, of course, was the first to manage a smile. Lightly, she tapped her best friend's nose. "Boop."

Ren let out a sound that was part laugh, part sob, and pulled his partner close again, nuzzling the top of her head. He felt her lips against his neck and sighed. "Nora, there is a promise I can make you," he murmured, his voice thick and husky due partially to tears, partially to the lingering warmth on his lips.

"Yeah?" Nora yawned as she felt Ren starting to rub her back.

"I promise to do everything in my power to survive this." He squeezed her once again. "You have to make that promise too, though."

Nora nodded, smiling as she felt Ren's heartbeat against her ear. "I promise."

The two were silent for the rest of the night. Ren continued with his watch while Nora dozed against him. For a few hours, they allowed themselves the luxury of mutual comfort, awaiting the inevitable return to their trek the following morning, which would take them closer and closer to danger and the potential need to break the promises they had just made.

Meanwhile, a few feet away, unbeknownst to them, a pair of tear-filled blue eyes looked on. A smile that was overshadowed with sadness and personal regret was hidden by the dying embers of the fire, and the surrounding shadows.

 **Something I didn't get to elaborate much on here was Jaune. I have a headcanon that he will try very hard to get Ren and Nora together, and will be very supportive of their relationship when it does happen. Since he was too late to tell Pyrrha his feelings, it makes sense that he'd want his friends to not repeat his mistakes. I can almost see him becoming self-sacrificial, in a way, and overly willing to die for his friends, Ren and Nora in particular, since he'd want to see them be happy in a way he and Pyrrha can't be.**

 **This has been another prediction from Solora Goldsun. It's only a few months now before we allow Rooster Teeth to rip our hearts out and eat them. Again. Peace out!**


	5. In Flames

**Oh, Rooster Teeth. Why do you make it basically impossible for me to come up with any happy predictions? I remember a time when I could actually write fluff in the canon-verse. Those were the days…**

 **Ahem, I thought of this prediction the day after watching the new episode, and it makes more and more sense the more I think about it. As usual, my reasoning will be given in the author notes at the end. Enjoy!**

Yang awoke to total silence and a feeling of dread so strong, it immediately sapped away any sense of sleepiness. She sat up and looked around. As she quieted her breathing, she became aware of one sound: Zwei's nervous growling.

"Zwei?" Yang got out of bed and approached the corgi. "What is it, boy?"

Zwei's ear flicked and his small eyes darted between the window and the door. A noise between a whine and a snarl rose in his throat, and he pawed restlessly at the material of his bed.

Frowning, Yang went to her door, barely remembering to grab her new prosthetic arm. She fit it to her right shoulder as she speed-walked down the hall, Zwei close at her heels. "Dad?" she called.

"Down here, sweetie," Taiyang's voice replied from downstairs.

Yang ran into the living room to see her father sitting in an armchair, gauntlets on, staring at the door. Ember Cecila were on the coffee table, where she had tossed them after yesterday's training session.

"Dad, what's going on? I feel weird, and Zwei is freaking out."

Zwei barked as he spun in a circle. He quieted, however, when Taiyang whistled sharply at him.

"It's the Grimm," Taiyang muttered. "Something's got them restless. You probably should put those on." He nodded toward Ember Cecila.

Yang hurried to obey, fumbling a little with her metal right arm. She was still getting used to channeling her Aura through it. According to her father, once she learned to do that, the cold appendage would feel almost like a real arm.

"Shouldn't we call for help?" Yang wondered. "Or run?" She felt ashamed for asking this, but didn't exactly feel ready to face a horde of Grimm.

"No one to call," Taiyang replied, still glaring at the door. "You heard Barty. The Huntsmen are all at Beacon. They wouldn't get here in time. As for running, we'd might as well be by our home, since we're going to have to fight eventually." He let out a growl of frustration. "I don't know what's happening. The Grimm are restless, but aren't attacking. It's almost as if they're waiting for something."

The humans and dog sat in silence for a minute before the quiet was broken by a loud knock on the door. Zwei leaped to his feet and started barking like crazy. He ran at the door, scratching his claws desperately against the wood.

Taiyang stood, looking at Zwei, then at the darkened windows. "Yang, I want you to take Zwei and go out the back door."

"What?!" Yang stood up. "I'm not leaving-"

"Go around back and try to get a look around," he continued. "I have a bad feeling about this. Just do it."

Yang bit her lip, but nodded. Taiyang sent Zwei back, and she picked the dog up and ran toward the back door. Just as she opened it, she heard a strange voice asking: "Hello. Does Ruby Rose live here?"

Her heart pounded as she snuck around the side of the house, trying to see if there was anyone else around. She suppressed a gasp when she peeked around the corner. A man was standing at the door, a man with a very disquieting smile on his face. Worse still, there was a pack of Beowolves standing behind him, looking at him as if they were waiting for an order.

"You would really do well by telling me the truth, old man," the creepy man murmured, eyes glinting.

Taiyang's voice came from the doorway. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there is really no Ruby Rose here. Now, kindly get off my property."

The man giggled, causing Yang to shiver. "Such a pity," he sighed. He raised a hand and snapped his fingers.

Yang was already rushing toward the Beowolves, even as they started to charge the house. The man spun around, swinging his arms at her. She realized as she dodged that his weapons were clawlike blades attached to his leather arm braces. She jumped back, shooting desperately at him, cursing at the fact that her right arm wasn't obeying every time she tried to make it shoot.

Taiyang rushed from the house and tackled the man to the side. Yang ran to help, but was quickly occupied with fighting off the Grimm. She punched one in the head as Zwei sank his fangs into another. "Dad!" she called as she tried beating through the Grimm.

Several Beowolves ran past her and started attacking the house itself, tearing wood from the walls, shattering the windows, and clawing at the very foundations.

 _They're looking for Ruby!_ Yang realized, her blood going cold. _What could this guy want with her?!_

Then, through a gap in the Beowolf pack, she saw something that made her stop dead in her tracks: Her father was standing perfectly still, head thrown forward. One of his opponent's blades was buried in his chest.

"NO!" Yang's eyes turned red for the first time in months and she surged forward, shooting and punching any Beowolf that got in her way.

The man turned and smiled at her, just as something grabbed her right arm. The man's next few words were muted by the sickening crunch of metal in a Beowolf's jaws.

"Since you're so strong, I'll tell you something before you die," the man chuckled, turning away from Yang and to her father. "Even though your daughter isn't here, I'm going to find her. She hurt one of my colleagues, you see." He paused, letting out another maniacal giggle.

Yang yanked against the Beowolf, tears streaming down her face.

"I don't much like Cinder, but you can't just take a person's eye without some repercussions." He grinned widely. "You'll see her soon, old man. Very soon."

Taiyang gasped, eyes wide. "N-" His attempt to speak was cut off when his enemy twisted the blade. Blood poured from his mouth and he fell to the ground as the man stepped back.

Yang screamed, straining against the jaws that continued to chew on her arm. Her head pounded and bile rose in her throat.

The man barely glanced at her. "Would you boys kindly finish off the gimp. Take care of the house while you're at it. I have a Huntress to find." With a final demented laugh, the man was gone.

Yang let out a roar of pure rage, spinning around and punching the Beowolf's jaw. At that moment, Zwei leaped out of the horde, knocking the Grimm off balance and dislodging its teeth from Yang at last. A shot to the head was enough to finish it off.

Human and dog battled the Grimm for what felt like forever. Meanwhile, enough managed to get to the house so that it was in flames by the time the fight ended. Yang stared at it for only a moment before rushing to her dad's side.

Taiyang Xiao Long lay in the grass, a pool of blood surrounding him like a grotesque Aura. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open, frozen in the expression of horror that had covered his face when he heard his youngest daughter's potential fate.

Yang fell to her knees, shoulders shaking as she sobbed. Everything around her looked like it was shrouded in shadow. Nothing was real. Nothing could be real! This wasn't supposed to happen!

Her dad couldn't die. He was her dad! You heard about other people losing their parents, but you never lost yours. That was how things worked.

Even in that moment, Yang was aware of how childish her thoughts were. She hiccupped loudly as she pulled a whimpering Zwei close. The dog yelped when a spark from her mangled arm touched his fur.

Yang blinked, staring at her prosthetic arm, which was now a mess of twisted metal, wires, and reinforced plastic. Her eyes narrowed. _A lot of good you did!_ With a growl of frustration, she pulled the battered limb from her stub of a real arm and threw it to the side, gauntlet and all. She looked at her left hand, the one thing that had functioned correctly through the fight. Then, she looked at Zwei, who had turned away from his master and was staring up at her expectantly.

"Looks like we're all we've got, Zwei," Yang muttered. There were tears still streaming down her face, but she felt oddly calm. Looking at the burning house and her father's body, she knew that there was nothing for her here anymore. Only one thing mattered.

"Ruby," she murmured, closing her eyes. She imagined her little sister's face, remembered turning away from her all those months ago, hearing that last "I love you," somehow knowing that it would be the last in a long time.

 _But not the last forever,_ she vowed. _That creep won't get to her! Not while I'm still breathing._

She opened her eyes, which glowed red in the light of the fire. Carefully, she dragged Taiyang's body to the destroyed house. She checked for a pulse in one last, faint hope that she wouldn't be doing this alone, but knew it was futile even before she felt nothing.

She only remained for a moment, watching her father burn on an improvised pyre. "At least you can see Summer again," she murmured, wiping her eyes. "Tell her hi for me, okay?" She tried to smile, but her lips just wouldn't obey.

Instead, she turned away. She paused at the beginning of the path leading into the woods and looked down at Zwei. "Come on, boy," she said. "We've got work to do."

With heavy hearts, but determination making up the new skeletons of their souls, the two figures set off into the night, leaving their home behind forever.

 **Aint I just a ball of sunshine? Okay, here's my explanation. Something has been bothering me since they introduced Yang's prosthetic arm: If she was going to have one, why show her without an arm in every piece of concept art and in the theme song? She gets it right after her first appearance, so it wasn't to build up to a huge reveal. The only other reason I can think of is that she won't have the metal arm in the near future. And, since she is now showing a willingness to use it, her not having the arm later likely won't be due to choice. Therefore, I think something is going to happen to permanently damage the arm before she really learns how to use it.**

 **Moving on from that, we know that Tyrian has been sent to look for Ruby. Where will he likely go first? Ruby's home, of course! You can't tell me that Salem doesn't have ways of finding out where people live when they aren't explicitly hiding.**

 **Finally, something like this has to be done for the sake of story. In Yang's arc, the focus is her recovery. However, due to time constraints in the series and the fact that Taiyang is really the only character she's consistently interacting with, that puts a limit on what they can do with her in this season now that she's agreed to use the metal arm. In this case, there are three options: First, we'll get several repetitive training episodes. Second, Yang won't really be seen until Volume 5, which would essentially be another timeskip for her, which would be freaking stupid. Third, something will happen that basically forces Yang back into the field immediately, whether she's ready or not.**

 **Obviously, I favor the latter choice. Also, we know that there will be a death this season, since RWBY has gone the Game of Thrones route. Taiyang seems like a prime candidate. Besides, Tyrian doesn't seem like the type to take prisoners. The other scenario I can picture is an attack involving those two Faunus we see in the theme song, who are likely from the White Fang, and could have been sent by Adam. Either way, the end result is the same.**

 **After that, I hope to see Yang seeking Raven out in order to learn how to fight better with her disability. Now that we know that Raven is the chief of a tribe of murderers, I really want to see Yang go rogue and learn some things from them. Like, I don't see her going full dark, but there's nothing wrong with a good character who's willing to enter a gray area once in a while. Also, now that we know more about Raven, I feel that the dynamic between her and Yang would be fascinating. Like, they'll never develop a mother-daughter bond, but I can see them having a deep sense of respect for each other as fellow fighters. I may actually do a chapter on that later on…**

 **Anyway, this has been my latest cheerful prediction. Praise Monty, protect your feels, and peace out!**


	6. A Much Needed Apology

**Okay, spoilers for Volume 4, episode 8. Just a warning.**

 **So, this isn't a scene that I necessarily think will happen, because I'm rapidly losing faith in this show's writing, but it is a scene that absolutely NEEDS to happen. Like, I have other things to type, but I had to type this scene out so that it at least existed somewhere in the universe!**

 **This takes place after the upcoming battle with that White Fang spy, assuming it ends smoothly. Enjoy!**

Sun groaned as he walked, double-checking himself for any other injuries. That fight with the "White Fang Ninja," as he had chosen to call her, had been quick, painful, and ended with her getting away. Blake hadn't said much. She had just looked at Sun, then left, probably to avoid a well-deserved "I told you so."

Looking down, Sun felt his foot nudge something beneath the balcony. "Ah! There you are." He picked up his Scroll, relieved that being thrown hadn't caused the screen to crack. Slipping it into his pocket, he started toward the door, only to see something move out of the corner of his eye. He turned just in time to see Blake stepping behind a pillar near the corner of the house.

"Blake?" Even though prior experiences told him he should probably be leaving her alone (his cheeks were still stinging quite a bit), he changed course and peeked around the house. Blake was standing in the shadows, ears drooped, eyes fixed on the ground. "Hey, Blake. You okay?"

When Blake's shoulders shook, Sun mentally cursed himself for saying the wrong thing, _again_.

Then, in the tiniest of voices, she said: "How can you be asking me that?"

"Huh?" Sun took a step closer. His heart sank when he saw that there were tears running down Blake's face. He wanted to hug her, but decided to wait. "What is it? Did that ninja hurt you? Should I call your mom?"

This only caused her to cry harder. "You still care… I can't…" She shook her head, bringing up a hand to wipe at her cheeks.

Sun blinked. "What? Of course I still care. We're friends, right?" He decided to risk putting a hand on her shoulder, but drew back when she flinched. "Come on, Blake. Talk to me," he murmured, any and all humor leaving his voice.

Blake took a shuddering breath before slowly meeting his gaze. Her eyes were shining with tears and filled with…anger. But, it wasn't anger at Sun, or even the White Fang. This was a deeply personal anger. "I haven't been treating you like a friend at all," she finally breathed. "I hit you." She stared at her hand. "You were trying to help me, and I hit you. _Twice._ "

Sun gaped at her. _Wait, this is what she's crying about? Not because the White Fang are freaking spying on her? Not because she's scared? She's crying because of two stupid smacks to the face?_ He let out a short laugh. "Blake, it's fine. It didn't even hurt." _Much._

Blake drew back as if a snake had suddenly appeared at her feet. She stared up at Sun, eyes wide. Her ears were practically pressed against her head. _"It doesn't even hurt." That's what I would always say…_ "Sun, it is _not_ fine," she hissed.

Sun's grin faded. He let out a sigh. "Okay, no it isn't, but I forgive you. I know things have been rough, and that I've been a total pain."

"That's still no excuse." Blake folded her arms across her chest, looking at the ground again. "I shouldn't have hurt you. That's what _he_ would do."

"He?" Sun stared at her for a moment before realizing what she meant. "Adam?! Okay, no. Blake, you're nothing like that creep!"

"Really?" Blake held up her hand. "I didn't even think about it. I was angry, and I hurt you. That's it." She looked back up at Sun. "You should go, Sun. Go back home. Go to your team. Just…let me deal with things here."

"That's not happening," Sun replied, his eyes hardening. "Especially now that we know the White Fang is watching you. You need all the help you can get."

Blake shook her head, but it was more of a sign of defeat than a denial. Another tear trickled down her face. "You deserve so much better."

Sun gave her a long look. "So do you." When she shook her head again, he took a step forward. "You do. Whatever that jerk might have made you think, you deserve to be happy. You deserve to live without these White Fang goons harassing you. You deserve your friends." He touched his cheek. "Look. We all make mistakes and lash out sometimes. It doesn't make us bad people. I don't think Adam would be beating himself up the way you're doing."

"Yeah, but I still-"

"Just don't do it again," Sun interjected. "It was two hits, and I forgive you for it. Let's just look at what we should do next about this White Fang Ninja, okay?"

"Three."

"Huh?"

Blake wiped her eyes. "Technically, I hit you three times overall."

Sun grinned. "Well, I'm feeling generous, so I'll forgive that one too."

This managed to pull a tear-choked laugh from Blake.

Sun held out his arms. "Come on. You definitely need one."

Unlike other times, Blake needed no prompting to step into Sun's embrace and lean against him, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle. More tears flowed out, dripping onto his shoulder. The warmth of his arms and the unconditional comfort he was offering only caused her to cry harder. It was several minutes before she was able to breathe properly again.

When Blake shifted, Sun let her step away from him. What she did next, however, nearly caused him to gasp out loud: She leaned in and touched her lips to his cheek. Then, she moved to his other cheek. They were two quick, soft, gentle touches that only lasted a moment each.

Blake drew back then, finally managing to smile at him. "I really am sorry."

"I know." Sun resisted the urge to touch his cheeks, which now were absent of any sting and just felt warm. Instead, he placed a hand on Blake's shoulder and nodded encouragingly. "We're going to be okay, Blake. We both will, no matter what happens."

Blake placed a hand over his and closed her eyes. When he talked like that, she really almost believed him.

 **Three things really bugged me about this episode. One: They're STILL throwing more magic legend bullcrap at us without fully explaining what they have thrown at us already. Two: I love how much character development Team RNJR is getting, and how they're equally showing everyone's reactions to things, particularly Ruby, who is the main character of the show. Isn't it great how they're not making it seem like Jaune is the only one who had a connection with Pyrrha? Isn't it great that they're taking the time to show real character development and interaction, especially since the Volume is almost over? *sarcasm* Two and a half: A good chunk of this episode was basically World of Remnant. Three: Blake freaking slapping Sun in the face!**

 **That scene rubbed me the wrong way on so many levels. I was willing to write off that slap after the sea serpent fight, because it seemed to be more comedic, like when Winter bopped Weiss on the head. There was** _ **nothing**_ **funny about this, though. Between Sun's shocked face (Seriously, go back and** _ **look**_ **at the freaking expression on his precious little face in that scene!), the fact that Blake hit him** _ **twice**_ **, and the fact that she was freaking yelling at him while hitting him and** _ **hitting him to emphasize the pauses between her sentences**_ **, I honestly felt uncomfortable watching. I'm a die-hard Black Sun shipper, but this is causing me to pause a little bit and wonder if I should put Seamonkeys at the head of my fleet.**

 **Also, this is the episode after we saw Jacques Schnee laying a hearty smack on Weiss! (Fuck that guy, by the way. I'm gunning for Ironwood adopting my precious snow baby.)**

 **Before Volume 4, I would have said that Blake would never strike one of her friends like that. Ever! She is an abuse victim, for crying out loud! Literally, the only way RT can redeem this moment is if they address it. If Blake is someone who is drawing abusive tendencies because of her previous relationship, actually show that. And show her dealing with it and overcoming it. Have a scene like this where she freaking apologizes to Sun!**

 **Still though, I can't bring myself to think that Blake is the kind of person who would draw abusive tendencies from Adam. She has never lashed out like this before, and I'm convinced that she only did this because it was Sun and because he's the comic relief idiot right now, because cruddy writing. RT never would have had her slap Yang, Weiss, or Ruby in this way, even if they did the same exact thing that Sun had just done. Hell, they didn't have her slap Weiss during their argument at the end of Volume 1, and Weiss said some pretty mean stuff about Faunus. If they are trying to establish Blake as someone who picked up some abusive qualities, they should have shown it sooner, like during that scene. I hate it when people automatically jump on the "Monty wouldn't have wanted this" wagon whenever something happens that they don't like, but I think I can definitely say that it applies here.**

 **I'm honestly afraid that this is going to be a running gag, or something that will just never be talked about, and that might actually cause me to stop watching the show. I won't stop writing fanfictions, because I love the characters. But that's the problem: I feel that RT might be going down the path of actually ruining these characters. Blake's in a lot of danger right now, character-wise, and they'll have to tread very carefully the next time they show her.**

 **Or Sun could die tragically before Volume 4 ends, in which case, I will give up on this freaking show! They're already nudging Qrow toward the lovely Grim Reaper. I don't need the only other source of happiness in canon RWBY to die too!**

 **I've been trying so, so hard to be optimistic about this show, since it's so important to me. Rooster Teeth sure isn't making it easy, though. Anyway, that's my take on it. I'd love to hear yours.**

 **My P/atreon is Solora Goldsun if you want to show extra support in exchange for earlier updates and rewards.**

 **As always, praise Monty and peace out.**


	7. Team SSSN Reunited

**So, we didn't get a Team SSSN reunion. And I'm hearing nasty rumors that the rest of our favorite monkey boy's team won't be making an appearance in the future. I would like to emphasize how not okay with this I am. Like…I'm EXTREMELY not okay with this!**

 **It makes no sense that Sun would have such a huge role, but his best friends would just be written out after how much emphasis and effort went into them. They were in the freaking theme songs! We were told that Gavin was voicing a character who's more major than Junior, and that was revealed to be Scarlet! I'm still waiting for my freaking payoff, yo. At least Neptune, Sun's best friend, and a person who appears on a lot of the merchandise, deserves more.**

 **Ah well. Here's my take on how a reunion between the boys should go. I'm holding out hope that Rooster Teeth will stumble across my fanfiction page and decide to hire me for the writing staff. I wouldn't even have to be one of the big plot people. They could just have me there to slip in extra scenes that help develop the characters while the big plot is going down. I'd be happy with that.**

 **Anyhoo, enjoy!**

Sun couldn't stop smiling as he watched Blake embrace her teammates at long last. He didn't care how difficult everything had been up to this point. All months on that boat, all the stress of dealing with the White Fang, and all the heartache that went into helping Blake was all worth it when he saw that relieved smile on her face as the rest of Team RWBY accepted her back with open arms.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Kali smiling up at him. "Thank you," she murmured, her ears tilted in a way that further softened her gentle expression. "For all you've done for Blake."

Sun grinned easily. "Hey, no problem! Blake's my friend."

"She certainly is," Kali said, her eyes glinting in a knowing way. As she watched her daughter, something else occurred to her. "You're from Mistral. Is your family here? I'm sure they're worried sick about you."

"Don't worry," Sun assured her. "We're Vacuo natives, and parents there tend to let their kids do what they want once they're old enough. I messaged them once we were in the kingdom. They said to stop by once I'm done saving the world."

He looked back at Team RWBY and was suddenly struck with the fact that he needed to call someone else. "Um, would you excuse me for a sec?"

He hurried away from the others, taking out his Scroll and dialing a familiar number. It rang only once before Sun's eardrums were blasted.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?! WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

"Uh, on Menagerie? I said I'd catch up with you. Ow, my ear…"

"NINE FREAKING MONTHS AGO!"

"Hello, Neptune. Nice to hear your voice too, Neptune," Sun muttered with a dry smile.

"Of all the… Where are you now? All the police have been suddenly moving from downtown, and people are talking about a White Fang attack. You wouldn't be involved, would you."

"You know, that's a funny story. I'm at Haven, and boy did things get crazy. We took out the White Fang, fought some crazy bad guys, and apparently there's a big demon lady behind everything-"

"You're fighting _demons_ without us?!" Neptune groaned. "Okay, I'm getting Sage and Scarlet, and we're coming down there. If you run off before we get there, we will track you down and kill you. Understand?"

"I missed you, buddy."

"Oh, shut up." Neptune failed to keep an undertone of affection out of his voice. "We'll be there in a few minutes."

When Sun looked up, he saw that Blake had walked back over. Her ears were perked up, and she seemed caught between amusement and concern. "Everything okay?"

"Well, my team's coming to see me," Sun said. "They'll either be really happy, or they'll kill me on the spot. I expect you to be my witness if I'm murdered."

Blake chuckled. "I don't think you have anything to worry about. My team forgave me, after all." She glanced over her shoulder, her ears twitching. "Though…I think Yang and I will need to talk more later…"

"Talking is good," Sun agreed.

At that moment, the rest of Team RWBY, along with Jaune, Nora, and Ren ran over. Ruby immediately hugged Sun, thanking him over and over for taking care of Blake and making sure she wasn't alone.

Yang gave the Faunus a friendly punch in the arm, which of course made the limb go numb immediately. "Please tell me you left some pieces of Adam for me to deal with."

"He got away," Sun admitted. "So, you'll get first dibs when we see him next time. Make it hurt, okay? He's a real jerk."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Yang grinned. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find my arm."

"Wait, what?"

"She got a detachable weaponized arm from Atlas," Weiss explained. "How are you, Sun?"

"Can't complain. Nice to see you, Ice Queen." He grinned when Weiss rolled her eyes.

He got reacquainted with the others, and helped introduce a slightly hesitant Ilia. He was soon distracted, however, by a shout from the broken wall.

"What happened to the school?!" Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage were walking into the ruined building, eyes wide. When Neptune saw Sun, he immediately strode over, eyes blazing. "So, you finally came back, huh? Oh, hey Blake."

"Hello, Neptune," Blake replied with a smile. "Go easy on him, okay? He did save me and my family from the White Fang at least three times now."

"Told you he had a good reason for going," Sage muttered before turning to Sun. "Nep and Scarlet were beside themselves."

Scarlet folded his arms with a huff. "Well, can you blame us? Our leader goes off on his own _again_ , and is all like 'Oh, I'll be right back. Oh, I'll catch up with you guys later.' And then he's gone for nine months!"

"I mean…" Sun's tail swished nervously back and forth. "It's later, right?"

Neptune threw his hands in the air. "Dust, you're such an idiot!" With that, he stepped forward and hugged his best friend.

Sun gladly hugged back, wrapping his tail around Neptune's waist and reaching up to ruffle his blue hair. His smile widened as he felt Scarlet's lean frame against his one side, then felt Sage's strong arms circle all of them, lifting them partially off the ground.

When the hug ended, Scarlet cleared his throat. "Okay, before anything else happens, I need to establish some rules. One, no more running off on your own. Two, Blake stays near us at all times, since you seem to be drawn to her like a magnet."

Both Sun and Blake blushed at this.

"Three, Sage and I actually get to help save the world this time! No leaving us out! No going off on boats!"

"Especially the boat thing!" Neptune added.

"Oh, shut up Neptune!" Scarlet snapped. "You were at least included in a few things that Sage and I had to hear about second-hand!"

Sun held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Okay, okay! Deal! Team SSSN sticks together. No more team split-ups. How's that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Ruby chirped, hugging Blake's arm tightly. "No more team split-ups ever!"

"Now that that's settled," Sage continued. "What exactly happened here? And where's Professor Lionheart?"

A heavy silence descended on the group. Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Jaune, Nora, and Ren exchanged uneasy glances.

"Um…Maybe we should sit down for this," Weiss suggested.

A few hours later, after the police got their necessary statements, everyone was at the house, which was more than a little cramped now. Qrow had just finished introducing himself to Ghira and Kali, and Oscar had recently woken up. Ruby was rubbing his back, quietly congratulating him on winning his first real battle. Once everyone was settled, the friends told their stories.

Night passed and morning came before they were done. Everyone sat for a little while, digesting this new information.

Team SSSN had mirrored expressions of disgust as they tried to comprehend what their headmaster had done. Sun looked at his teammates, wondering what would have happened if they had been sent out on some doomed mission while he was on Menagerie. He shifted closer to Neptune, who immediately understood and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"And now," Qrow continued. "We gotta go to Atlas."

Weiss put her face in her hands, groaning loudly. "After all the effort I spent getting out of Atlas, I need to go back."

"What? Worried about your dad?" Yang snorted. "He can't do anything to you! You're a legal adult. And if he tries…" She held up her reattached metal arm. "I'm more than happy to _iron out_ the details!"

Everyone groaned.

"Anyway," Qrow cut in. "That's our next move. Who's in?"

All members of Teams RWBY, JNPR, SSSN raised their hands without hesitation.

 **At the very least, I know Sun's here to stay. There's no freaking way he's gonna get written out of the plot after all that's happened. I'm looking forward to seeing him interact more with the other characters now that everyone's together. I'd especially love if he became like a cool older brother to Oscar. Because, let's face it: Oscar will probably think Sun's the coolest person on the planet. I can just see it. I'm also looking forward to Ilia becoming friends with everyone, especially Weiss. There's a lot of development that could happen there.**

 **I'll see you guys tomorrow with the return of Dragon Tuesday!**

 **If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun. Now with a one-dollar option, and more drabble requests for people pledging ten dollars and up!**

 **Peace out!**


	8. A Cold Reception

**Whitely does not deserve the hate he's been getting! I cannot emphasize that enough. Seriously, it's like most of the fandom has written him off as a spoiled brat with zero redeeming qualities. I feel like I'm one of five people who see that he's just as much of a victim of Jacques's abuse as Weiss. Hell, he's more of a victim, since he's still powerless to actually leave the way Weiss and Winter did! So, yeah. Whitley Protection Squad for life!**

 **This is a scene I hope happens eventually. Since they're going to Atlas, there's a perfect opportunity for more Schnee family development.**

 **Enjoy!**

Weiss tapped lightly on the door. Her mind was roiling with emotions, and she wasn't sure which one would come to the forefront when she entered the room. Anger? Forgiveness? A transparent attempt to act like nothing happened, because that would honestly be so much easier?

"Come in."

Finally deciding on neutral, Weiss entered her brother's room. "Hello, Whitley."

"Hello, sister," Whitley replied. He was sitting at his desk and turned the chair slightly so that he was looking at her but didn't face her fully. "You're back."

"Not really," Weiss corrected. "We came back to Atlas in order to fight the people who destroyed Beacon. We'll likely be leaving once we're done here."

"I see." Whitley nodded. "That makes sense. When I first heard from Klein that you were coming, I was confused. Why go to all the effort to escape, and then come all the way back?" He glanced at her sharply. "But why did you come _here?_ I would assume that I'm the second to last person you would want to see, all things considered."

"I thought that I should see you," Weiss said. She didn't say "I almost died." or "Yang told me I should try and talk to you, because you _are_ my little brother."

"Well, you see me," Whitley replied. "Do you have anything to say?"

Weiss felt the coldness between them, and felt it settle on her heart once more in the face of her brother's indifference. "I hope that being heir to the Company is everything you hoped it would be," she said, her voice dripping venom and ice water. "I hope it was worth pushing aside both Winter and me. I hope you grow up to be every bit as successful as Father is."

Whitley let out a short laugh. "Please, Weiss. You did that to yourself."

"What?!"

"Did I throw a temper tantrum at a charity ball?" Whitley asked, giving his sister a superior smirk. "Did I summon a Grimm to attack people? Did I feel the need to remind Father of his bloodline while he was already angry? No. No, that was all you. Can you blame me for accepting the benefits that fell my way as a result?"

"Yes, actually!" Weiss snapped. "There were several things you could have done that didn't involve throwing me to the dogs!"

"Were there?! Were there, really?" Whitley stood up and took a step toward Weiss, his eyes blazing. For a moment, she stepped back, seeing a shadow of her father in that glare.

"What were my options, oh wise sister?" Whitley snarled. "Go against Father and get beaten? Maybe I should have suddenly developed a fighter's body, inject myself with your summoning ability, and run off to an academy the way you and Winter did! Oops. That's a bit impossible, isn't it? Maybe I should have run away and tried making it on my own. Oh wait, I can't do that. I'm only fourteen years old, after all, and an easily-recognized Schnee. I'd be killed by a band of rogue White Fang members within the day."

He took another step forward. "I don't have the options you do, Weiss!" A hint of a sob entered his voice. "You and Winter did a fine job of raising Father's ire over the years. I'm the last of his children, and he'll never let me go! I'm under his eye nearly every minute of every day! If I don't become what he wants me to be, my life will forever be a living hell!"

Weiss stared at her brother, stunned. She had never heard so much of any emotion in his voice before. She reached for him, and he smacked her hand away. She felt her heart crack.

"Do you know who was left to deal with his anger after you ran away?" Whitley asked. "Me! Do you know who got to hear all about how you were ignoring his calls while you were at Beacon? Me!" He shifted, and some sunlight hit his face, revealing an old bruise in his cheek. "So, don't you tell me how I could have easily done this or that or whatever, because I couldn't! I don't have your abilities or your luck."

He paused to take a breath. "Also, unlike you, I never had an older sister on my side, helping me figure out what else I _could_ do."

Weiss felt a definite shattering sensation in her chest, and couldn't speak for a moment. She watched Whitley turn away from her, watched him walk back to his desk and sit down. For the first time, she looked hard at his straight, poised posture and could see the strain in his shoulders, how close he was to breaking down. Her eyes were growing hotter as her chest was filled with stinging ice.

She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her, and walked over to Whitely, placing a hand on his back. She felt him stiffen further. Then, after a moment, his shoulders slumped and he started to sob.

Gently, she wrapped her arms around him, bending over and resting her cheek on his shoulder. She heard him hiccup a little in surprise. Then, one of his hands came up to weakly grip at her arm.

"I'm sorry, Whitley," she murmured, rubbing his back as he continued to cry. "You're absolutely right. I haven't been there for you the way Winter was for me. I was so focused on getting myself away from Father… Maybe I thought that I'd be better able to help you once I wasn't so afraid of him, but you already needed me."

Whitley sniffled, drawing away from Weiss so he could take a handkerchief out of his pocket. He blew his nose before pocketing it again. "I didn't want it to happen that way," he muttered. "I didn't want to betray you. But, it's like I told you: It's foolish not to do as Father asks. He would have just threatened me to keep me in line, then gone on with his plans anyway."

"That's true," Weiss allowed. "But you didn't have to be so smug about it." She smiled to soften the words a little.

Whitely let out a slightly choked laugh. "Well, I need to keep the mask I've made to make Father happy intact. If I let too many cracks appear, it'll shatter at an inopportune time, and I may end up throwing a ghost Grimm at some poor woman."

Weiss chuckled. "I'll admit: That was pretty bad." She nodded toward the bed. "Can we sit?"

Whitley wiped his eyes once more, then nodded. The two sat down together in silence.

"What did you mean by 'I didn't want it to happen that way?'" Weiss finally asked.

"I mean, I always assumed you would go on to be a Huntress after your time at Beacon," Whitley explained. "That's a bit of a full-time job. I thought that the company would inevitably fall to me."

"Why do you want to run the company so much?"

Whitley shrugged. "The company is what I know. It's what Father's been grooming me for since I could think coherently." He glanced at his sister, who had already accomplished so much in her short life, and let out a sigh. "Besides, what else am I good for?"

"Plenty!" Weiss said immediately. "You just haven't been allowed to realize that." Internally, she was kicking herself over and over again. _She_ should have been the one helping him realize that.

How had she been so blind over the years? Why hadn't she reached out to Whitley at all during her own journey? Why hadn't she felt the need to establish a bond with him the same way Winter had with her? How many hours, how many days, had she wasted brooding in her room instead of going down the hall and simply talking to her brother, giving them both the chance to vent about their problems? Had she even said a proper goodbye to him before leaving for Beacon? She couldn't remember.

She could practically hear Winter's voice in her mind. _Don't waste time and energy regretting what you didn't do. Figure out what you can do now._ She touched Whitley's shoulder again. "Do you want my help, Whitley?"

The look Whitley gave her then was so stunned, so hopeful, so helpless, that Weiss felt as if someone had gathered up the shards in her chest and pulverized them to dust.

She took out her Scroll immediately. "Give me yours. I'll put my number in."

"Father keeps track of who I call."

"Ah. Right…" Weiss paused. "What about email?"

"He reads my emails."

"Well, make a new account that he doesn't know about. That's what I did after Winter left home." She wrote down her personal email, as well as Winter's, on a scrap of paper and handed it to him. "I should be in Atlas for at least a few weeks, so if you need me to be with you in person at any time, I can make arrangements."

Whitley eyed Winter's email address. "I don't think Winter will want to talk to me."

"She will," Weiss promised. "She's just the type who only helps people who want to be helped." She couldn't help but wonder why Winter hadn't reached out to Whitley either. Then again, she had her duties for the Special Forces to deal with. And, thinking back, Weiss realized that she had needed to be the one to ask Winter for help when she was first seeking a way out. _Maybe she was waiting for Whitley to approach her, or approach me,_ Weiss thought. _Though, that clearly wasn't the right course of action._

"Contact her when you're ready to start taking more serious action, or when I leave," she said aloud. "Whichever comes first. In the meantime, I'll respond as quickly if I can if you contact me, whether you want advice, or just want to talk. When this is all over, I'll do everything I can to help you figure out a way out of Father's shadow."

"Do you really have to leave again?" Whitley asked, his voice cracking a little.

"Yes," Weiss said firmly. "There are forces at work beyond Grimm and the White Fang. It goes a lot deeper than I can explain right now. If everyone doesn't fight, we may all die."

"Promise me you won't die," Whitley said, his voice regaining some of its usual, commanding undertone.

"Whitley, I can't-"

"Just do it," Whitley cut in. "If you do die, I can distract myself from the grief by being mad at you for breaking your promise. If you don't, then you kept the promise, and there's nothing to worry about."

Weiss couldn't help but laugh at that. "You are real piece of work. Okay, I promise not to die."

"Good." Whitley smiled, though his eyes were still sad. "I truly am sorry, Weiss."

"I forgive you. Just try to be less like Father in the future, okay?" Weiss gave him an encouraging smile. "It will cause some tension between you two, but you need to develop who you are as a person, or you won't know what to do with yourself without him telling you what to think. Start by doing more research on things Father tells you, particularly about the Faunus."

"The Faunus?" Whitley frowned.

"Yes, the Faunus. I can put you in contact with a friend of mine, if you want. She's a former White Fang member." She laughed at the look of horror that came to Whitley's face. "Trust me. She can teach you a great deal."

Whitley shook off his shock as he heard the clock in the hallway go off. "You'd better go," he said, though he really didn't want to. "Father will know you're here soon enough." He paged Klein, pretending to ask for a drink. Within a minute, the butler was outside the door, ready to sneak Weiss back out of the mansion.

Weiss stood up with Whitley and hugged him tightly. His arms came up slowly, hesitantly, as if they weren't quite sure of what to do. Weiss remembered being like that, and she silently swore to hug her brother every time she saw him in person from then on.

She exited his room, and glanced back. He was standing in his normal posture again: hands behind his back, expression neutral. But there was a definite shine of tears in his eyes. Weiss managed a smile before turning away.

"Klein?" she said as they hurried down the hall to the secret passage in the library. "Please look after him."

Klein chuckled, his eyes turning from their usual brown to a gentle yellow color. "My dear Weiss. Why do you think I'm still here?" His eyes flashed red. "I hate that scoundrel who calls himself your father." Back to brown. "But I'll remain as long as his children and wife need me."

"Say hello to Mother too…if it looks like she'll actually hear you," Weiss murmured. That was another thing to address once this war with Salem was over.

But she had to focus on Whitley now. Whatever happened, she would save him, even if she wasn't entirely sure how.

 **Another side note: People love complaining about Whitley's snobby attitude, but he's really just a more cunning Volume 1 Weiss. I'm willing to bet that all of the Schnee children were conditioned to act a certain way in order to keep from attracting their father's anger.**

 **I desperately want Whitley to at least become a prominent secondary character in the series. I can see him maybe being an ally/spy from within the Company, or maybe a strategist (cue a brotherly bond with Jaune!) And, let's face it: He'd be the sassiest boy on the face of Remnant. I want to see this boy lay the burn on characters like Adam and Jacques. He could do it!**

 **I just hope he isn't kept as a one-dimensional brat/minor villain. Not only is it a waste of potential, but it over-simplifies a victim of an abusive situation, and the show has done a good job so far of treating that subject with the respect it deserves (except for the infamous Blake slap, but I'm willing to overlook that since it was due to miscommunication with the animation people rather than a wish for the scene to actually play out like that).**

 **Anyway, those are my thoughts on Whitley. Please feel free to join the Protection Squad. That boy sure needs it.**

 **If you like what you see and want to join an awesome fan community in exchange for sweet rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.**

 **Peace out!**


End file.
